How Probiotic Yogurt Works

Researchers show that the bacterial species in probiotic, fermented dairy products may alter gene expression and metabolism in native gut microbiota.

By Bob Grant | October 26, 2011

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, FEUERRABE

The bacteria found in some fermented dairy products, such as yogurt, may alter gene expression in human gut microbes, and resultant tweaks to metabolic processes could be behind gastrointestinal benefits often observed in people consuming such probiotic products, according to a study published today (26 October) in Science Translational Medicine. The work was funded by several grants from the National Institutes of Health and from Danone Research, the scientific research arm of Groupe Danone, a Paris-based multinational food products corporation that specializes in dairy products.

Since the 1990s, clinical trials have shown that probiotic bacteria can aid digestion in humans, but the molecular mechanisms involved in conferring those health benefits have proved difficult to pin down. "Nobody really understands how probiotics affect human health," said University of California, Davis, food microbiologist David Mills, who was not involved with the study. "What [this study] has shown is that maybe one of the mechanisms is by shifting the course of expression and how the microbes speak. Maybe that is part of the clue to how these types of foods are healthy."

Jeffrey Gordon, a microbiologist at Washington University in St. Louis, and his team gave a commercially-available probiotic yogurt containing five strains of bacteria to healthy adult volunteers and administered the same five strains to mice that harbored a subset of genetically-characterized human gut microbes. The yogurt bacteria did not significantly alter population structure in any of the entrenched gut microbes, in humans or mice—a result that is not surprising, according to Mills. "To assume that you could eat a yogurt and numerically challenge what's in your gut is kind of like dumping a gallon of Kool-Aid in your swimming pool and expecting it to change color," he said.

But RNA sequencing of the human gut microbes in the mice revealed that the probiotic bacteria changed the expression of gut microbe genes encoding key metabolic enzymes, such as those involved in the catabolism of sugars called xylooligosaccharides, which are found in many fruits and vegetables. Mass spectrometry of metabolites in urine, which result from the ramped up metabolic processes in the probiotic-fed mice, confirmed the alterations, and when the researchers ran similar analyses on gut microbes from the human yogurt eaters, they found upregulation of the same genes.

"The results show that in this particular set of conditions [probiotic] organisms are capable of altering the metabolic properties of a human microbial community," said Gordon.

The fact that Gordon's team could detect a signal of altered gene expression in the mice, which harbored only 15 species of human gut microbe, and that same signal was also apparent in the vastly more complex human gastrointestinal milieu is the start of something big, according to Gregor Reid, a nutritional researcher at the Lawson Health Research Institute in Canada who wasn't involved with the study. "Even with a very simplified model, they could replicate the effects they found in humans," said Reid, who wrote an accompanying opinion piece that was published in the same issue of Science Translational Medicine.

Gordon noted that the mouse model he used in the current study points a way forward to further probe the interactions between entrenched gut microbial communities and probiotic products, which could allow researchers to develop new hypotheses, identify novel biomarkers, and apply findings in preclinical models and eventually clinical uses for such products.

Continued research may also help to elucidate the precise interactions between probiotic bacteria or other dietary inputs and resident gut microbes that lead to alterations in gene expression and metabolism. "We don't know the nature of the molecular communications between these yogurt strains and the entrenched microbial community," Gordon said. "Each member of the [gut] community was able to adjust its metabolism presumably in a way that benefitted itself and the rest of the community as well. These organisms constantly try to find a niche or profession that allows them to survive in these complicated communities."

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On a sample of one(1), ie., is yours truly, yoghurt with active cultures have an immediate effect on the gut, bowel movement etc. Probiotic capsules too have a similar effect. Is this a placebo effect Â ?...I think not... but good luck with research. Hope Yoplait joins Dannon as major sponsor in this important pursuit in optimum health maintenance and preventive medicine.

NICE....can you help me in my inventions even this is not the site for it no one listen to me... they all laugh... it's about the condensation of water I have a way to make it Electricity much power than gasoline and cheaper than any fuel. I use water...

Im surprised at this. "The yogurt bacteria did not significantly alter population structure in any of the entrenched gut microbes, in humans or miceâ€”a result that is not surprising, according to Mills."Â Im not a scientist but one would think if you ate probiotic products on a daily basis that you could increase the "good" bacteria

On a sample of one(1), ie., is yours truly, yoghurt with active cultures have an immediate effect on the gut, bowel movement etc. Probiotic capsules too have a similar effect. Is this a placebo effect Â ?...I think not... but good luck with research. Hope Yoplait joins Dannon as major sponsor in this important pursuit in optimum health maintenance and preventive medicine.

NICE....can you help me in my inventions even this is not the site for it no one listen to me... they all laugh... it's about the condensation of water I have a way to make it Electricity much power than gasoline and cheaper than any fuel. I use water...

Im surprised at this. "The yogurt bacteria did not significantly alter population structure in any of the entrenched gut microbes, in humans or miceâ€”a result that is not surprising, according to Mills."Â Im not a scientist but one would think if you ate probiotic products on a daily basis that you could increase the "good" bacteria

On a sample of one(1), ie., is yours truly, yoghurt with active cultures have an immediate effect on the gut, bowel movement etc. Probiotic capsules too have a similar effect. Is this a placebo effect Â ?...I think not... but good luck with research. Hope Yoplait joins Dannon as major sponsor in this important pursuit in optimum health maintenance and preventive medicine.

NICE....can you help me in my inventions even this is not the site for it no one listen to me... they all laugh... it's about the condensation of water I have a way to make it Electricity much power than gasoline and cheaper than any fuel. I use water...

Im surprised at this. "The yogurt bacteria did not significantly alter population structure in any of the entrenched gut microbes, in humans or miceâ€”a result that is not surprising, according to Mills."Â Im not a scientist but one would think if you ate probiotic products on a daily basis that you could increase the "good" bacteria

Clostridium difficile -Â after several attacks from C. difficile my parent was touching death's door in spite of many rounds of antibiotics. Â I researched it exhaustively and found that the trick is to pump in probiotics, especially saccaromyces boulardii (administration of two 500Â mg doses per day) WHILE taking either vancomycin or metronidazole, and to continue taking it and other probiotics (kefir, yogurt are good too). Â She hasn't had another outbreak in 2+ years. Â It was frightening...check out:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...

I think that the good flora gets wiped out by vancomycin and you better put some good guys back in or the bad guys will re-establish themselves...just IMHO.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...my parent had recurrent attacks of c.diff and many rounds of antibiotics - she was truly at death's door. Â I researched it exhaustively and found that if you administer probiotics WHILE and AFTER taking antibiotics when much of gut flora has been wiped out, the system restabilizes. Â The key was saccharomyces boulardii which as I recall, appears to compete for location with c.diff.

Clostridium difficile -Â after several attacks from C. difficile my parent was touching death's door in spite of many rounds of antibiotics. Â I researched it exhaustively and found that the trick is to pump in probiotics, especially saccaromyces boulardii (administration of two 500Â mg doses per day) WHILE taking either vancomycin or metronidazole, and to continue taking it and other probiotics (kefir, yogurt are good too). Â She hasn't had another outbreak in 2+ years. Â It was frightening...check out:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...

I think that the good flora gets wiped out by vancomycin and you better put some good guys back in or the bad guys will re-establish themselves...just IMHO.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...my parent had recurrent attacks of c.diff and many rounds of antibiotics - she was truly at death's door. Â I researched it exhaustively and found that if you administer probiotics WHILE and AFTER taking antibiotics when much of gut flora has been wiped out, the system restabilizes. Â The key was saccharomyces boulardii which as I recall, appears to compete for location with c.diff.

Clostridium difficile -Â after several attacks from C. difficile my parent was touching death's door in spite of many rounds of antibiotics. Â I researched it exhaustively and found that the trick is to pump in probiotics, especially saccaromyces boulardii (administration of two 500Â mg doses per day) WHILE taking either vancomycin or metronidazole, and to continue taking it and other probiotics (kefir, yogurt are good too). Â She hasn't had another outbreak in 2+ years. Â It was frightening...check out:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...

I think that the good flora gets wiped out by vancomycin and you better put some good guys back in or the bad guys will re-establish themselves...just IMHO.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...my parent had recurrent attacks of c.diff and many rounds of antibiotics - she was truly at death's door. Â I researched it exhaustively and found that if you administer probiotics WHILE and AFTER taking antibiotics when much of gut flora has been wiped out, the system restabilizes. Â The key was saccharomyces boulardii which as I recall, appears to compete for location with c.diff.

It depends on the probiotic you use. The popular literature tells you that yogurt â€œsupportsâ€쳌 the good beasties in your gut, but does not multiply their numbers. Kefir, another fermented dairy product, on the other hand, contains five or six times as many different probiotic cultures as yogurt, and can actually multiply the concentration and diversity of helpful critters in the gut. Good stuff!

It depends on the probiotic you use. The popular literature tells you that yogurt â€œsupportsâ€쳌 the good beasties in your gut, but does not multiply their numbers. Kefir, another fermented dairy product, on the other hand, contains five or six times as many different probiotic cultures as yogurt, and can actually multiply the concentration and diversity of helpful critters in the gut. Good stuff!

It depends on the probiotic you use. The popular literature tells you that yogurt â€œsupportsâ€쳌 the good beasties in your gut, but does not multiply their numbers. Kefir, another fermented dairy product, on the other hand, contains five or six times as many different probiotic cultures as yogurt, and can actually multiply the concentration and diversity of helpful critters in the gut. Good stuff!

Apparently the majority of the bacteria does not survive the passage through the digestive track. Nevertheless, they are important to inoculate the gut. The results point out just to one of the plausible mechanisms - the known influence (here shown by the transcriptom changes) of the microbial populations, even in miniscule quantities, one on the other. It reminds me of the effective microorganisms of dr Terugo Higa, and his efforts to inoculate the environment with the "positive microorganisms". The theory states that the majority of the microbs in any environment are not "positive" or "negative" but opportunistic, and they will behave accordingly to the presence of the good or bad guys around, even in small quantities.

Apparently the majority of the bacteria does not survive the passage through the digestive track. Nevertheless, they are important to inoculate the gut. The results point out just to one of the plausible mechanisms - the known influence (here shown by the transcriptom changes) of the microbial populations, even in miniscule quantities, one on the other. It reminds me of the effective microorganisms of dr Terugo Higa, and his efforts to inoculate the environment with the "positive microorganisms". The theory states that the majority of the microbs in any environment are not "positive" or "negative" but opportunistic, and they will behave accordingly to the presence of the good or bad guys around, even in small quantities.

Apparently the majority of the bacteria does not survive the passage through the digestive track. Nevertheless, they are important to inoculate the gut. The results point out just to one of the plausible mechanisms - the known influence (here shown by the transcriptom changes) of the microbial populations, even in miniscule quantities, one on the other. It reminds me of the effective microorganisms of dr Terugo Higa, and his efforts to inoculate the environment with the "positive microorganisms". The theory states that the majority of the microbs in any environment are not "positive" or "negative" but opportunistic, and they will behave accordingly to the presence of the good or bad guys around, even in small quantities.

The mechanics of interactions among gut flora are more subtle and complex than simple "good" and "bad" bacteria.

Without the constraint of variant types, some bacteria will modify their target resources to those molecular types offering an energy conversion path which involves molecules in the host's gut lining. That process, in turn, causes host irritation and inflammation (particularly with any errant psychosomatic conditions besetting theÂ host -- be happy, don't worry ...), the possible tissue change precursory to recurring disease (syndromes) or, potentially, cancer.

Introducing known beneficial bacteria on a regular basis likely induces subtle changes in the kinds of interactions among many of the adapting bacteria simply because the richer bacterial milieu offers more alternative energy conversion routes and exchanges (among bacters). Â Determining which routes are taken depends upon the complexion of the gut environment. Â Thus, the richer environment can shift the resource target of currently offensive bacteria because an alternative molecular resource is more available or more energetically efficient (so the bacter type reproduces more often, replicating more of its type) or an intermediate conversion resource becomes relatively less available which, effectively, shuts down that energy path (the one involving the gut lining).

The revealed gene changes simply reflect bacterially induced genetic responses to their altered energy pathways. Â Clearly, the gut is an ecosystem of sub-ecosystems, and your's is slightly distinct from mine. Â Which reminds me.

The mechanics of interactions among gut flora are more subtle and complex than simple "good" and "bad" bacteria.

Without the constraint of variant types, some bacteria will modify their target resources to those molecular types offering an energy conversion path which involves molecules in the host's gut lining. That process, in turn, causes host irritation and inflammation (particularly with any errant psychosomatic conditions besetting theÂ host -- be happy, don't worry ...), the possible tissue change precursory to recurring disease (syndromes) or, potentially, cancer.

Introducing known beneficial bacteria on a regular basis likely induces subtle changes in the kinds of interactions among many of the adapting bacteria simply because the richer bacterial milieu offers more alternative energy conversion routes and exchanges (among bacters). Â Determining which routes are taken depends upon the complexion of the gut environment. Â Thus, the richer environment can shift the resource target of currently offensive bacteria because an alternative molecular resource is more available or more energetically efficient (so the bacter type reproduces more often, replicating more of its type) or an intermediate conversion resource becomes relatively less available which, effectively, shuts down that energy path (the one involving the gut lining).

The revealed gene changes simply reflect bacterially induced genetic responses to their altered energy pathways. Â Clearly, the gut is an ecosystem of sub-ecosystems, and your's is slightly distinct from mine. Â Which reminds me.

The mechanics of interactions among gut flora are more subtle and complex than simple "good" and "bad" bacteria.

Without the constraint of variant types, some bacteria will modify their target resources to those molecular types offering an energy conversion path which involves molecules in the host's gut lining. That process, in turn, causes host irritation and inflammation (particularly with any errant psychosomatic conditions besetting theÂ host -- be happy, don't worry ...), the possible tissue change precursory to recurring disease (syndromes) or, potentially, cancer.

Introducing known beneficial bacteria on a regular basis likely induces subtle changes in the kinds of interactions among many of the adapting bacteria simply because the richer bacterial milieu offers more alternative energy conversion routes and exchanges (among bacters). Â Determining which routes are taken depends upon the complexion of the gut environment. Â Thus, the richer environment can shift the resource target of currently offensive bacteria because an alternative molecular resource is more available or more energetically efficient (so the bacter type reproduces more often, replicating more of its type) or an intermediate conversion resource becomes relatively less available which, effectively, shuts down that energy path (the one involving the gut lining).

The revealed gene changes simply reflect bacterially induced genetic responses to their altered energy pathways. Â Clearly, the gut is an ecosystem of sub-ecosystems, and your's is slightly distinct from mine. Â Which reminds me.

One theory of this is the lack of PROPER bacteria in the gut. They have shown some GOOD bacteria have evolved not to require iron. SomeÂ BAD bacteriaÂ DO require iron though. The consumption of a high iron / meat / iron fortified foods causes an increase of the iron requiring bacteria which OVERWHELMS the good bacteria which does NOT require iron . The overgrowth of bad bacteria is WHY the introduction of good bacteria / yoghurt causes what seems to be recovery.

"Iron is critically important to the growth of most species of bacteria, including pathogens, and its availability is what restricts their growth. It is well known that pathogens increase growth rate by up to 8,000 times when exposed to increased levels of iron. Lactic acid bacteria are unusual as they have evolved not to require iron, and so do not increase growth rate when exposed to it. "

"An increase in iron levels, which happens during active IBD, inhibits the growth of probiotic bacteria, including Lactobacillus"

One theory of this is the lack of PROPER bacteria in the gut. They have shown some GOOD bacteria have evolved not to require iron. SomeÂ BAD bacteriaÂ DO require iron though. The consumption of a high iron / meat / iron fortified foods causes an increase of the iron requiring bacteria which OVERWHELMS the good bacteria which does NOT require iron . The overgrowth of bad bacteria is WHY the introduction of good bacteria / yoghurt causes what seems to be recovery.

"Iron is critically important to the growth of most species of bacteria, including pathogens, and its availability is what restricts their growth. It is well known that pathogens increase growth rate by up to 8,000 times when exposed to increased levels of iron. Lactic acid bacteria are unusual as they have evolved not to require iron, and so do not increase growth rate when exposed to it. "

"An increase in iron levels, which happens during active IBD, inhibits the growth of probiotic bacteria, including Lactobacillus"

One theory of this is the lack of PROPER bacteria in the gut. They have shown some GOOD bacteria have evolved not to require iron. SomeÂ BAD bacteriaÂ DO require iron though. The consumption of a high iron / meat / iron fortified foods causes an increase of the iron requiring bacteria which OVERWHELMS the good bacteria which does NOT require iron . The overgrowth of bad bacteria is WHY the introduction of good bacteria / yoghurt causes what seems to be recovery.

"Iron is critically important to the growth of most species of bacteria, including pathogens, and its availability is what restricts their growth. It is well known that pathogens increase growth rate by up to 8,000 times when exposed to increased levels of iron. Lactic acid bacteria are unusual as they have evolved not to require iron, and so do not increase growth rate when exposed to it. "

"An increase in iron levels, which happens during active IBD, inhibits the growth of probiotic bacteria, including Lactobacillus"

Iron is critically important to the growth of most species of bacteria, including pathogens, and its availability is what restricts their growth. It is well known that pathogens increase growth rate by up to 8,000 times when exposed to increased levels of iron. http://www.03br.com/treatments...

Iron is critically important to the growth of most species of bacteria, including pathogens, and its availability is what restricts their growth. It is well known that pathogens increase growth rate by up to 8,000 times when exposed to increased levels of iron. http://www.03br.com/treatments...

Iron is critically important to the growth of most species of bacteria, including pathogens, and its availability is what restricts their growth. It is well known that pathogens increase growth rate by up to 8,000 times when exposed to increased levels of iron. http://www.03br.com/treatments...